Drying machine



'ug` 1l, 1925.l 1,549,726

' B. A. P ARKES DRYIING MACHINE Filed oct. 22,. 1920 2 sheets-sheet 1 ITIL. l"

ATT RNEYS.

Agg. 11,- 1925. i 1 1,549,726

- B. A. PARKES DRYING MAGINE Filed Oort. 22, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F1a la rf'l,...

Ar Mns.

Patented Aug. 11, 1925. f

UNITED STATES PTEN OFICE.

BERTRAND A. PARKES, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE PHILADELPHIA DRYING MACHINERY COMPANY, 0F PHILADELPHIA, ?I\INSYL VANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DRYING MACHINE.

Application filed October 22, 1920. Serial lo. 418,?19.

To all cli/0m t may concer-1i:

Be it known that I, BERTRAND A. IAanns, a citizen of the United `States, residing in Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usetul Improvements in Drying Machines, whereof the following is a specification, referencebeing had to lthe accompanying drawings.

rIhe invention relates to drying machines and more particularly to that type wherein the articles being dried are constantly subjected to a draft of air set up by suitable propelling means. Ditliculty has heretofore'been experienced in drying various articles of manufacture such, for example, as china, porcelain, crockery, etc., on account of their tendency to fracture or crack under internal stresses resulting from irregularities in the course of the treatment. rhe most important of the contributory causes of such irregularities, I have found to be due to variations in the intensity or velocity of the drying medium in different portions of the field or space through which the articles are passed during the treatment. The above argument will perhaps be made somewhat clearer by considering for amoment the conditions obtaining in a typical drying machine of the sort to which my invention appertains. In such machines, rotary fans are ordinarily employed in propelling the air. As is well known,under the characteristic operation of fans of this type, the velocity of the whirl induced by them is greater at the periphery than at the centre, as a consequence of which, the drying power of the air in different portions of the fan field varies accordingly. Thus as the articles being dried are passed through the fan field, some of them are dried at a much faster rate than others. While this consideration may be readily ignored in a great many instances of drying, it is, as can be readily understood from the foregoing, of the utmost importance. in the treatment of wares of the aforesaid kinds. y

rlhe object of my invention is to overcome the difficulty above pointed out, and this I `accomplish by controlling the How of the drying medium in such manner as to compensate for irregularities in the current as it comes from the propelling means, and at the same time, modifying the humidity of the air by application of additional moisture at the critical regions.

` The advantages of my invention will become readily apparent from the detailed description which follows.

In the drawings, Fig. I is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a drying machine conveniently embodying my invention.

Fig. II is a cross section of the same viewed in the direction of the arrows II-II in Fig. I; and

Fig. III is a diagrammatic plan view upon a somewhat reduced scale.

' Fig. IV is a sectional view of a fragmentary portion of the structure showing a. slight modification of baille plates for controlling flow of air through the machine.

The machine herein shown comprises an enclosure comprehensively designated by the numeral l, this enclosure consisting of a structural framework which is covered by sheet metal paneling according to the practice .usually followed in this art. Moving in a general longitudinal direction through the enclosure i, is a conveyor which consists of a pair of spaced sprocket chains represented conventionally at 2--2 which are guided over sprocket wheels 3 3 disposed in close proximity to the side walls, and are mounted correspondingly in pairs upon shafts 5 5. As will be seen from Fig. I, these sprocket wheels are so located within the structure as to determine a circuitous course for the conveyor comprehending a series of vertical loops. The conveyor system may be actuated, for example, by a worm gear couple 6 driving the shaft 5 of the sprockets 3 at the upper left-hand end of the machine. The worm gear couple 6 may be coordinated in any approved manner with a pulley 7, to which power may be applied from any convenient source. Suspended between the conveyor chains 2-2 are a multiplicity of transversely extending carriers l0, in suclrmanner as to be free to swing in passing the various sprockets of the system. These carriers l0, as shown in Fig. II, comprise end brackets Il having suitably offset lugs for attachment of tie rods l2. These tie rods 12 serve as supports for trays or shelves. The trays may extend across the full width of the machine or they may be made in two or more-parts or sections such as shown at 13-13. n drying certain materials or articles ot manufacture, the smaller' trays are found in practice to be more convenient for handling in transferring them from one part of a. manufacturing plant to another.

The air within the structure is propelled in a general longitudinal direction over two separate and distinct courses. Such circulation is etlected through the instrumentality of oppositely rotating fans 15 and 16 located respectively adjacent opposite ends ot the enclosure, and which cooperate with dellecting partitions 17, 18 and horizontal diaphragms 19, 20, by which the coursesot the air are denitely determined. An interval is lett at the centre ot the structure between the inner edges of the diaphragms 19, 2U, so as to afford an opening` for the `return flow of the air to the channels 21-22 below said diaphragms, lt will be obvious that the direction of circulation in each .instance may be readily reversed by chai'iging the rotation ot the fans, or such reversals may be made periodical by employing any suitable means lor the purpose. ln the present embodiment, 1 have shown the drive ofthe ians 15 and 16, as being accomplished by a bevel gear connection 25 from a shaft 26 which extends in each instance to the exterior to atford attachment it'er a driving pulley 27. ln addition to their functions previously noted, the partitions 17, 1S serve to set apart vertical end passages or channels 28 and 29, through which the terminal runs of the conveyor pass. lThese passages 28 and 29 are accessible 'from the exterior through openings 30, 81, of the end walls of the enclosure and are respectively provided with guards or guides 32, 33 which prevent swinging ot the conveyor carriers 10, when the trays or shelves 13413 are being mounted upon, or removed from the conveyor 2. By reason ot their isolation from the other portions ot the interior ot the enclosure, except for the openings through which the carriers of the conveyor 2 enter and emerge, these passages or channels 28, 29 are substantially neutral in so far as the air circulation is concerned.

In order that the tlow oft the air may be controlled or modified in coursing through the enclosure 1, l have provided at intervals along the length ot the same, upright transversely extending partitions 35, '35 which are located between certain vertical runs ot the conveyor. These partitions 35, 36, in addition to a function which will be presently described, serve to divide the structure lengthwise into a series oi consecutive 'zonal sections of which there are three shown in the illustration. By referring to Fig. ll, it will be seen that each of these partitions comprises a number of battles in the torni ot side plates 237-37, and intermediate plates 3S. `While any number ot such baliles 35-36 may be employed, in the case ot machines in which the shelves extend the full width ot the enclosure, I prei'er to use only the battles 1T-37 at the sides of the structure. By reason of the relative disposal of the battles 37 ot the partitions 35 and 86, with respect. to the air propelling fans 15 and 1G, it will be observed that the air along the sides of the machine within the intermediate Zonal section oi the structure is substantially retarded or impeded, so that the flow is diverted more generally toward the centre at said central section. ln practice, heretofore, it has been found that the articles supported at the ends ot the trays 13--13 invariably dry at a much more rapid rate than those at the centre, this being due to irregularities orvariations in the velocity in ditl'erent parts ot the i'ields or the rotary fans 15, 1G as previously explained. The side baffles 3?- 8T by reason ot their position within the fan fields serve to impede or retard the travel ot the air in the region of highest velocity, and to deflect it toward the central region ot lower velocity, so that the drying may bc rendered more uniform over the width ol the enclosure throughout the extent ot the trays 13- 3. TWhen using the divided trays, prefer to employ according to the number of subdivisions, one or more intermediate battles, such as indicated at 38, such additional bali'les serving tunetionally in a manner analogous to that described in connection with the battles ''TM/l. rl`he batiles 535-36 may be made either im- Aperforate as shown in lFigs. I, Il and lll.

or foraminated as in Fig. lV in any approved way in accordance with the extent of impedance desired. lVhile, accordingl to the sl'iowing herein, the control oli air iiow is confined more directly to the intermediate zonal section ot' the structure, it will be obvious that the location ot the partitions 35 and 36 maybe changed so that the range of lsuch control may be made more extensive. The coils represented at 239-39 serve to heat the circulated air in a well known manner.

ln the drying of certain articles ot manufacture such as, for example, clay rolls which are used in the manufacture ot sparl; plugs, iin order to prevent too rapid CryA ing, it has been found advantageous to humidity the air which tends to vretard tl c drying of the outer skin su'tiiciently to permit the escape ot the moisture 'from the more remote parts ot the interior. For the purpose of humidifying the air, l have pio vided at the back of the fans 15 and 16, transversely extending spray pipes 4() and 41 respectively. The perforations in these pipes extend across the full width ot the machine so as to deliver their charge uniformly t0 the air. In addition, I have provided in the intermediate zonal section of the structure an auxiliary spray pipe 42, having perforations only Within the limits of the Widths of the baiie plates 35, 36, so as to assistin eectively retarding the drying of the materials at the end portions of the conveyo-r trays, see Fig. III.

In operation, the materials to be dried are mounted upon theconveyor carriers 10 through the opening 30 at the right-hand end of the structure. Following` the direction of the arrovv headsr on the conveyor .in Fig. I, is will be seen that the carriers 1() are advanced toward the interior overthe top-0f the partition 17 and in moving vdownwardly in the first loop of the conveyor course are subjected to the full blast of the hot air from fan V15, so as to be uniformly raised to the proper drying temperature, and at the same time appropriately humified by the spray from pipev 40. After turning about the lower end of the partition 35 and entering the intermediate zonal section of the structure, the flow of the air is broken up by vthe baflies of the partition so that the velocity of the air about the end portions of the trays 13-13 is su'lhciently retarded with respect to that about their central portions to elfectuniform drying. thus obviating all danger of fracture or-ci aching. In further progress through the intermediate Zon-ail section of the structure, the general conditions just described remain the same except for the application of additional moisture from a spray pipe 4t2 at the critical regions, and the movement of the articles gradually into the province of the current created by the fan 16. In passing through the final zonal section of the machine, the articles are again subjected to the full blast of air in a direction opposite to that initially applied so as to insure their being uniformly dried on all sides before removal through the discharge opening 31 at the left-hand end of the structure. By proper regulation of heat and moisture, the machine constructed as herein described may be readily adapted for drying many diiferent varieties of manufactures.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A drying machine comprising an enclosure; means for propelling air through the enclosure; and means for modifying the velocity of the air to various extents in passing through different Zones of the enclosure by retarding the velocity thereof at the sides of its flovv.

2. A drying machine comprising an enclosure; means for propelling a stream of air through the enclosure; means for modifying the velocity of the air to various eX- tents in passing through different Zones of the enclosure by retarding the velocity thereof the sides of the stream; and means for humidlfying the air at certain regional points to retard the drying operation.V

3. A drying machine comprising in combination an enclosure; rotary fans for propelling air longitudinally through the enclosure; and cooperative means for controlling the flow of the air so that the velocity may be made uniform throughout the llield oi the fan by retarding that portion of the air current originating at the peripheries of the fans Without retarding that portion of the ling the flow of the air so that the velocity may be made `uniform throughout the intermediate zonal sections of the series.

6. A drying machine comprising in combination an enclosure; means for propelling the air in a general longitudinal direction over separate and opposed courses in opposite ends of the enclosure; and transversely extending partitions located at intervals intermediate the air propelling means, said partitions comprising a series of Abai-lies for modifying the iow of the air at differentregions Within the enclosure.

7. In a drying machine comprising in combination an enclosure; supporting carriers for the articles to be drie-d; means for progressing said carriers through the enclosure; means Lfor circulating the air Within the enclosure; and means for controlling the flow of the air so as lto modify its velocity in impinging upon -di'erent portions of the carriers.

8. A drying machine including in combination an enclosure; supporting carriers for the articles to be dried; means for progressing said carriers through the enclosure;

means for circulating the air Within the en-.

closure; means for controlling the flow of the drying medium so as to modify its velocity in impinging upon different portions of the carriers; and means for maintaining, at the same time, various degrees of humidification about different portions of the carriers.

9. A drying machine including in combination an enclosure; an endless conveyor tracing a series of vertical loops in a general llU longitudinal direction through theenclosure; a series of transversely extending supportinggcarriers for the articles to he dried suspended from said conveyor; means tor propelling the air through the enclosure in the saine general direction as that ol the general movement oit the conveyor; and inwardly extending hafiles disposed at intervals along the side of the enclosure between the vertical runs olf the conveyor, saidlnitlies serving to modify the flow ot the air along'tlie sides of the enclosure.

l0. A drying machine including in conibination an enclosure; an eiidless'conveyor tracing a series of vertical loops .in a general longitudinal direction'through the enclosure; va series of transverselyextending supportingl carriers for the articles to he dried suspended from said conveyor; means for propelling` the air through the enclosure in the same general 'direction as that oi the general movement oi the conveyor; ini'vardly ezitending battles disposed at intervals along the side of the enclosure between the vertical runs of the conveyor, said `battles serving to modify the tiow ot the air *along the sides of the enclosure; and spray pipes having perforations restrictedto the regions ot' the modified air flow.

ll. A. drying machine including .in conijliination, an enclosure; an endless conveyor tracing a circuitous course through the enclosure; a series ot transversely extending carriers suspended tromsaid conve-yor; supporting Vtrays or shelves 'forthe articles'tobe dried removably mounted upon said carriers; means for circulating the air witliin'the venclosure in the saine general direction as that of the `general movement ot t-lie conveyor; and means for retarding the flow ofthe air along the sides of the'enolosure tol modify its velocity in -impingiiig upon 'the art-icles at the regions ofthe ends of the 'supporting-shelves'of the conveyor Carriers.

l2. rl`he combination with a drying inachine including `an enclosure, means toi' creating an air strea-in therethrough in ywhich the velocity of the airtlow vaiies in different portions, and alii-article support extended vtransversely ot the direction of Vflow of the air stream; ot means` interposed in said air streain'to retard the iow or' the air at either side ot the stream without Yretarding lthe/flow along the Center line of thestreani,

whereby to effect a uniform drying ot articles supported upon any yportion 'of the carrier.

13. A drying machine comprising in coinbination an enclosure comprehending a number ot Zonal sections, rotary vfans for propelling air longitudinally through the enclosure, and co-operat-ive means tor establisliing uniform velocity of air-flow through vair-flow through said enclosure by merging that. portion ot the Vair current originating at the peripheries of the fans with that originating at the inner portions thereonfsaid co-operative means'coinprising side and intermediate battles disposed'in spaced relation. In testimony whereof, lI have hereunto signed iny name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 20th day ot' October, 1920.

BERTRAND A. Pannes. 

